Becoming a Coach

Please note - there is a subsidy of £25, available from the CA for registered CA members, to help toward the cost of attending a CA-approved Coaches' Training or Qualification Course at any level; ask your FCO, Academy Contact or Course Organiser about applying for this. Any player may claim the subsidy for attending a coaching course only ONCE at each level. Academies and Course Organisers are asked to contact the CA Office with regard to making a claim on behalf of a group of players. The subsidy claim form for completion and return is now within the downloads section of the website.

There are several grades of coach within the CA:

Club Coach (yellow badge) - trained and authorised to coach in own club (Association and/or Golf Croquet);

Becoming a Club Coach

To become a Club Coach you should attend a CA Coaches' Training Course (CTC), which is usually run over two days and is a mixture of lecture, syndicate and practical sessions. This will equip you to structure your courses and to coach beginners and improvers at your own club. The Course Organiser should notify your attendance to the CA Coaching Committee Chairman, who will record it and support the remainder of your qualification process.

Following the CTC, you must demonstrate, over at least five coaching sessions, your fitness to coach within your club. After the completion of these sessions, a club official should validate your coaching success by asking an Examining Coach to endorse your application (for the award of the Club Coach's badge and entry onto the CA Register of Coaches) by informing the CA Coaching Committee Chairman.

Becoming a Graded Coach

To become a CA Graded Coach (AC or GC) you must first demonstrate your ability to coach, usually by being a Club Coach. Candidates having other appropriate coaching experience or qualifications may be exempted from this requirement if the Coaching Committee approves the experience, qualifications, or other specific circumstances.

Qualification is first through meeting the Additional Criteria detailed below, then through assessment by an Examining Coach. This assessment may be carried out either while you are an assistant coach at an appropriate CA course, or by you planning and delivering some coaching at an appropriate level to a group of students. Your Federation Coaching Officer (FCO) will help to set up an appropriate assessment.

The Examining Coach will send to the CA Coaching Committee Chairman and to the candidate a completed Coach Assessment Form, which will recommend either appointment as a CA Graded Coach, or any additional steps the candidate should undertake to develop the necessary skills. The assessment might also recommend appointment after other criteria are met, e.g. when the candidate has gained the appropriate Laws/Rules qualification, or has a handicap at the correct level.

In special cases, where a candidate has demonstrated appropriate coaching experience, the assessment may be carried out during a CTC.

Alternatively, the Coaching Committee may accredit as any type of coach a candidate whom it considers has appropriate knowledge and ability.

Only CA Members will be entered onto the CA Register of Coaches and receive the coach's badge. They will also become insured through the CA Insurance Policy.

Association Croquet Coaches: Additional Criteria

Prospective AC graded coaches should have had at one time a handicap as follows:

Grade 1: handicap 14 or below;

Grade 2: handicap 6 or below;

Grade 3: handicap 1 or below.

Grade 1 candidates must be able to demonstrate a sound working knowledge of the Laws of Association Croquet;

Grade 2 candidates must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the Laws of Association Croquet to Assistant Referee standard;

Grade 3 candidates must have a Referee's qualification, or the ability to demonstrate knowledge of the Laws of Association Croquet to Referee standard.

A prospective higher-grade coach is not required to hold the lower qualification.

Golf Croquet Coaches: Additional Criteria

Prospective Golf Croquet coaches should have a sound working knowledge of the Rules of Golf Croquet.

Grade 2 Golf Croquet Coach - Anyone deemed to have sufficient and relevant coaching experience may be appointed at the discretion of the Coaching Committee. Applications are made to the Chairman of the Coaching Committee, supported by:

a written appraisal, by an Examining Coach or an acknowledged experienced individual, of the applicant's coaching involvement and record, either as a qualified CA coach at any level or of relevant coaching experience gained informally;

playing experience at B/A-Class level or better for a period of not less than two years prior to the application being made;

the ability to demonstrate a sound working knowledge of the Rules of Golf Croquet.

Grade 3 Golf Croquet Coach - Anyone deemed to have sufficient and relevant coaching experience may be appointed at the discretion of the Coaching Committee, providing they have previously served as a Grade 2 GC Coach. Applications are made to the Chairman of the Coaching Committee, supported by:

a written appraisal, by an Examining Coach or an acknowledged experienced individual, of the applicant's coaching involvement and record at Grade 2 level;

playing experience at A-Class level or better for a period of not less than three years prior to the application being made;

a Referee's qualification, or the ability to demonstrate knowledge of the Rules of Golf Croquet to Referee standard.

December 2018
(with acknowledgement to David Harrison-Wood)

Sarah Hayes

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